The Night Watchman

Based on the extraordinary life of Louise Erdrich's grandfather Patrick Grouneau, The Night Watchman follows Thomas Wazhashk, in 1953 as the night watchman at the jewel-bearing plant and a Chippewa council member who is trying to understand the consequences of a new "emancipation" bill on its way to the floor of the United States Congress. The bill is a "termination" that threatens the rights of Native Americans to their land and their very identity.

Thomas, along with Pixie "Patrice" Paranteau, who also works at the plant and is looking to reunite with her older sister, is forced to grapple with the worst and best impulses of human nature. Illuminating the loves and lives, the desires and ambitions of these characters with compassion, wit, and intelligence, The Night Watchman is a majestic work of fiction from one of the most acclaimed writers of our time.